Absorption, movement and distribution of boron applied to peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) fruits

Abstract

Six to eight-year-old ‘Reliance’ peach (Prunus persica) trees grown at the Ludlowville Orchard, Cornell University were selected and used in this study. Enriched-¹⁰B boric acid solutions were locally applied to fruits to estimate the uptake, movement and distribution in peaches. After harvesting, the plant parts were analyzed with inductively coupled plasma (ICP) - atomic emission spectrometry and ICP mass spectrometry for total boron and ¹⁰B/¹¹B ratio. The ¹⁰B content was used as the primary measure of B uptake and mobility. In 24 hours, the ¹⁰B taken up by the fruit could be translocated to non-treated leaves. The highest value of ¹⁰B uptake by peach fruits, as a percent of total ¹⁰B applied, was 0.3% with an average of 0.24%. In general, the treated tissue had the highest ¹⁰B content, followed by the non-treated fruit tissue and the leaf. Shoot-stems had the lowest ¹⁰B contents. The ¹⁰B exported from the treated fruit part as a percent of the ¹⁰B absorbed ranged from 49.8% (1 day) to 89% (7 days). It is suggested that in peaches, even B in strong sinks like fruit is freely mobile in the phloem.